Hennepin County Plans for $30 Million Brookdale Library, Regional Center Upgrade
Hennepin County is planning for a significant remodel and upgrade of the Brookdale Library and the Hennepin County Regional Center.
Located at 6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy., the library hasn’t seen a major remodel in 20 years.
The $30 million project is expected to bring $17 million in upgrades to the library’s interior.
The design work for the project hasn’t been finalized, but officials say the project would likely begin in 2026.
Hennepin County Library Director Scott Duimstra told CCX News that the needs of library visitors have changed in the past five years.
“We’re seeing how people are coming back to libraries from the pandemic but also how their uses are changing versus pre-pandemic,” Duimstra said. “Some of the new uses that we see are requests for meeting rooms, requests for rooms with [audio-visual] equipment, requests for our collections to organized in different ways as well.”
The remodel would likely include the installation of new carpets and furniture, a new space for children, and extra meeting rooms.
Hennepin County Director of Facility Services Margo Geffen said the building has a lot of potential to better meet the needs of future visitors.
“Architects on our team, [this is] one of their favorite libraries,” Geffen said. “A big part of that is the natural light that you see in the library, so we’re really excited to build on the bones that are already here.”
Hennepin County is planning for a significant remodel and upgrade of the Brookdale Library and the Hennepin County Regional Center.
Energy Efficiency Upgrades at the Brookdale Library
Geffen said the plan to remodel the library will work in tandem with plans to update the larger Hennepin County Regional Center building.
Some of those upgrades — like a new parking lot and roof work — are related to general upkeep of the building.
However, parts of those upgrades are intended to make the building more energy efficient.
“We’re evaluating geothermal right now, and we will definitely have solar panel arrays on the roof,” Geffen said.
Officials say they hope the end result of the remodel would improve a community asset that’s worth more than just the books on the shelves.
“You see the halo effect, of visiting the library, of visiting the area businesses as well, so the library I’ve always viewed as an anchor institution to a community, and that’s what I see with the Brookdale Library as well,” Duimstra said.
The county would likely close the library for about a year during the remodel.
Officials said they are continuing to collect feedback from visitors on the project. A survey on the project is available here.
